HUNTSVILLE, Alabama - It's not simply a new ballpark that so many of us would like to see downtown. We want a magnet. We want something to draw fans. But we also want something to draw and support more activity there.

As Chad Emerson, the new CEO of Downtown Huntsville, Inc., so neatly put it, something that is "a mixed-use facility with a baseball component."

Chad Emerson, CEO of Downtown Huntsville, Inc.

The stadium could and should include a year-'round full-service restaurant. It could incorporate housing lofts, office condos, a hotel - whatever our imaginations led us to. And has any city our size been better with using imagination to create amazing things than Huntsville?

"I don't think a ballpark by itself, with no complementary uses, is that good of an idea," said Emerson, who saw first-hand the impact of a downtown park in his role as Montgomery Development Directory. "There needs to be retail or residential, something that turns it into an entertainment site rather than a single-sports venue ... a site where you want to try to generate revenue 365 days a year rather than 70 home dates plus a few extra special events."

Emerson doesn't have a dog in the hunt when it comes to the location or ownership or affiliation.

What he does have, though, is the belief that, properly done, a downtown ballpark can indeed be that magnet: "What I do know, in peer cites across the country, ballparks have served as successful entertainment mixed-use venues."

So, what's stopping us? Start surveying the Coca-Cola plant and figure where home plate will be. Draw up some plans. Grab a shovel.

&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://polldaddy.com/poll/7394473/"&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;What do you think of a new downtown baseball stadium as multi-use project?&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; Oh, yeah ... I remember what's stopping us.

Money. The uncertain future of the Stars' franchise. Partnership.

Funny, but the money might be the least of the worries. Naming rights, sale of the Joe Davis property, ownership equity and simply saving on the bandages needed to modernize the current park could add up to $30 million.

But partnership becomes the issue. Stars majority owner Miles Prentice isn't accessible. He didn't come to Huntsville for a single game this season. Calls go straight to voice mail and a full inbox. He won't even issue a statement about the future; we're left only with the assurance that the Stars will operate at Joe Davis Stadium in 2014.

It makes me believe all this downtown stadium talk could be moot. Prentice and others have been in negotiations with a potential buyer who wants a team in Biloxi, Miss., in 2015. But the Biloxi effort seems to have lost some steam since early summer. For Huntsville to assure the future of baseball here, it's time to move with urgency.

Here's the horrible irony in timing:

Prentice was more visible here years ago and floated the idea of a new park. However, city money was tied up elsewhere and Joe Davis Stadium seemed perfectly fine to most.

Now there is the growing acceptance that the old park needs to be replaced. There are visionaries like Emerson and Mayor Tommy Battle and city planner Dennis Madsen who see the value of a downtown stadium. There is a revitalization of downtown for which a stadium could serve as centerpiece.

But the owner sits in Key West on a full inbox that won't accept messages.

Emerson reminded that "You have to view a minor league stadium as an entertainment venue, not just a sports venue."

It's time, in a public venue, for the Stars' owner to commit to a long future for the team in Huntsville, or, better yet, sell it to someone who will.

It's time, in a public venue, for the city to commit to a new downtown stadium, if appropriate assurances are given. Hopefully the owner will answer the call.

Mark McCarter writes columns on news and sports for The Huntsville Times and al.com. Contact him at mmccarter@al.com